It's that time of the year...no charcoal for a while.


 
Grant Cunningham

Grant Cunningham

TVWBB Pro
Fire season started today for our part of Oregon, which means no charcoal fires until late September or early October. (The actual wording of the restriction is "liquid fuels only", which leaves out pellets as well — which is why I don't bother with a pellet grill. When I can use one I can also use superior charcoal, and when I can't use charcoal I can't use pellets either.)

So, the E6 gets some downtime and I use the Genesis Platinum for the next two or three months. On the plus side, I'll be able to stockpile briquets for next fall/winter/spring!
 
We've been on a charcoal ban since late May. We also have had some monsoon rains that have helped with the drought. The problem with that is now all the weeds and grasses go nuts then dry out and make the fire danger even worse.
We have a 20K acre cattle ranch right next to us and the brush is about two feet high now, if that burns, we well be in trouble.
I date all my charcoal so I can use the oldest first. I have some bags of Kingsford that are now five years old. I used to use charcoal in the summer and the two gassers in the fall. In the winter if I grilled at all it's with the pellet grill or the gassers.
I think due to the charcoal ban every summer now I've gone through 2 or3 bags of charcoal in the last four years.
 
They still allow camp fires in established sites. That's the crazy thing.
 
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Im sorry. but this is the most ridicules thing I have ever heard of, banning Charcoal. whats next? anything with a pilot light, or maybe all electric appliances with resistance heating elements. they can all start fires when improperly used.
 
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DanHoo said:
Does age of the charcoal make a difference? I think I have some 5yo KBB.
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Not that I can tell just before the ban I used a five year old bag of KBB and it worked fine. But we are in a very dry environment, in a very humid area it may be a different story.
 
ScottRogers said:
Im sorry. but this is the most ridicules thing I have ever heard of, banning Charcoal. whats next? anything with a pilot light, or maybe all electric appliances with resistance heating elements. they can all start fires when improperly used.
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Here in timber country, we take wildfires very seriously. I doubt I could find a fellow timberland owner within 100 miles who thinks seasonal fire restrictions are ridiculous. We all observe them, because the consequences of a fire are far greater than a bit of temporary inconvenience.
 
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Rich Dahl said:
Not that I can tell just before the ban I used a five year old bag of KBB and it worked fine. But we are in a very dry environment, in a very humid area it may be a different story.
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Thanks. I usually use lump, though I bought 10 bags several years ago when it was on sale. I used to take KBB on car-camping trips but we've not gone in a while where we could have fires so it's just aging in the rafters of my garage.
 
DanHoo said:
Does age of the charcoal make a difference? I think I have some 5yo KBB.
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Not that I've noticed. Depends on how it's stored, though; if it's been in a nice dry garage, no problem. One of those metal storage sheds that condenses water inside every time you get a warm rain? Probably a different story.
 
I'm really sorry, guys. I get it, but I feel for you all.
Out of curiosity, are fireworks banned where you all live?
 
Tim Campbell said:
I'm really sorry, guys. I get it, but I feel for you all.
Out of curiosity, are fireworks banned where you all live?
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Yes.

www.edhfire.com

Fireworks are Illegal in El Dorado County

ALL fireworks are illegal in El Dorado County. El Dorado County Municipal Code 8.08.050 states: Any person who uses, discharges or possesses any fireworks within the unincorporated territory of the county is guilty of a misdemeanor. Violation of this law could result in 6 months of jail time...
www.edhfire.com
 
Out here in the West, wildfires are a deadly serious business.

I was evacuated from my house in the middle of winter (December 30 to be exact) due to an out of control wildfire. My house was spared, but 1,000+ other families in suburban Boulder County (not rural timber country) lost everything.

At the mountain neighborhood where my weekend house is, us neighbors constantly debate eaxctly how much fire buffer we need to maintain around our houses. I've got a bunch of beautiful old lodgepole pines that I need to chainsaw sooner rather than later.

The last month has been pretty wet in the high Rockies, so we (surprisingly) don't have any charcoal restrictions yet. I took advantage of the pouring rain over July 4th weekend to do a big pork butt smoke. Even if we don't get fire restrictions soon, I won't light up anything other than my gasser until September. I don't want some stray embers from my WSM to be the Mrs. O'leary's cow that takes out my entire neighborhood. Scary stuff for sure.
 
Gonna pour down rain here everyday for all the next week, no such thing as fire restrictions around here.
 
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while I don't live within the boundaries of the national forest, the one nearest me has fire restrictions effective today.

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Dan... Same down here in So Cal. We live just under 2 miles from Cleveland National Forest. Our fire restrictions are in effect starting in just under an hour from now.... ( Fireworks are forbidden down here too )
 
Tim Campbell said:
Out of curiosity, are fireworks banned where you all live?
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For many years. And in some of the last remaining holdout communities, voters have taken matters into their own hands and banned the use, sale, and possession of fireworks. Everything is bone dry around here all year around, fireworks are just too risky and people don’t want to see more of the destruction we’ve seen in recent years with thousands of homes destroyed and so many people displaced. Drone shows are the new big thing.
 
Chris Allingham said:
For many years. And in some of the last remaining holdout communities, voters have taken matters into their own hands and banned the use, sale, and possession of fireworks. Everything is bone dry around here all year around, fireworks are just too risky and people don’t want to see more of the destruction we’ve seen in recent years with thousands of homes destroyed and so many people displaced. Drone shows are the new big thing.
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Seeing is believing:

 
Tim Campbell said:
I'm really sorry, guys. I get it, but I feel for you all.
Out of curiosity, are fireworks banned where you all live?
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Oddly enough, you can purchase all kinds of fireworks near me in the Boise, ID area, but you have to sign an affidavit saying you won’t set them off where prohibited by local ordinance. Only non-airborne fireworks are permitted to be used. Those affidavits must be meaningless because our neighborhood and all though out Treasure Valley, huge fireworks went on from 9mp to well after midnight. Big ones started about July 1 near me and are still being as late as last night (3-4/night).
 
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